Yeh Shen Archetypes

The archetypes that were found in the various Cinderella versions are extremely similar. They each involve a heroine, a villain or evil figure, and a mentor or helper. In addition, there were traditional theme archetypes, such as a quest for love. These archetypes represent the similarities between each culture’s version of the story.
In Yeh-Shen, the cultural aspects, such as her name, the theme of fish on her shoes, along with her attire help represent the Asian aspects of this version. Similarly, the father in the story has two wives, showing us that China’s laws about marriage are much different than the United States’ laws. In addition, Yeh-Shen shows themes of love, dead advising the living, and good versus evil. The archetypes in this version help convey the traditional story of love and a happy ending by the hero or heroine.

In Egyptian Cinderella, the names, physical features, setting, and mythology help show the differences in culture.

For example, the main character’s name, Rhodopis, is a classic Greek name due to the fact that the heroine is a migrant from Greece to Egypt. In addition, the Pharaoh is the King that Rhodopis marries. The housemaids in the story are described to all have black hair, which is another Egyptian trait. There are also mentions of the Nile River in this version which give the readers a geographical image of where the story takes place. The mention of the god, Horus, alludes to Egyptian mythology as well. The archetypes in the Egyptian story are the mentor figure, which in this story is the god Horus, and the outcast, which is portrayed by

Rhodopis.
In the final story, The Baba Yaga, the plot takes a different twist from the first two. The names, the grammar, and the plot help the readers identify that the story is from a foreign country. The Baba Yaga is the Step-aunt, who portrays the witch or evil being as well. Her name is the direct translation to “witch” in Russian. The translation of the story from Russian to English was skewed from how Americans would write it, which also helps the readers infer about the different language. Lastly, the plot isn’t the typical fairy tale that ends in a happy ending. The end of the story results in the shooting of the Stepmother and the daughter living happily with her father. This gruesome finale would never be seen in a children’s story in America. The archetypes are the most prominent in this version. For example, the daughter plays the heroine, the Stepmother and Step-aunt play the evil figures, and the real Aunt plays the mentor. These details show the themes of good versus evil and a quest for love, which ends in happily ever after.
The key elements in determining the differences between cultures can be easy to find if the archetypes and themes are identified. As soon as the key elements of the stories are compared, it is simple to find the culture changes between the stories, similar to the changes in the multiple versions of Cinderella.